Appeal No. 2002-2317
Application No. 09/025,607
adhesive, derived from at least one basic monomer, and blending
therewith an acidic copolymer or terpolymer derived from monomers
comprising 0.5-50 wt% acidic monomers (pages 2 and 6-7).
The appellants argue, in reliance upon the EP ‘082 examples,
that EP ‘082 does not disclose or suggest blending a minor amount
of acidic copolymer with the basic polymer or copolymer (brief,
page 19). The reference, however, is not limited to its
examples. See In re Fracalossi, 681 F.2d 792, 794 n.1, 215 USPQ
569, 570 n.1 (CCPA 1982). EP ‘082 teaches that it is
advantageous to use only enough basic component to neutralize all
of the free carboxyl groups in the acidic component (page 7).4
However, because EP ‘082 is not limited to this preferred
embodiment, see In re Kohler, 475 F.2d 651, 653, 177 USPQ 399,
400 (CCPA 1973), and because the reference teaches that the
acidic and basic components can be used in widely varying amounts
(page 7), the reference would have fairly suggested, to one of
ordinary skill in the art, use of a greater amount of basic
component, with suitable amounts being determined through no more
than routine experimentation. See In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454,
4 EP ‘082 teaches that the amount of basic component must be sufficient
to neutralize at least 5 mol% of the free carboxyl groups in the acidic
component (page 7).
15
Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007